


the same old hesitation

by mercutioes



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Other, alcohol use, descriptions of injury and medical treatment, the 5 + 1 fic we all deserve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 08:29:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11180925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercutioes/pseuds/mercutioes
Summary: 5 times mako trig kissed cassander timaeus berenice and 1 time they kissed him back





	the same old hesitation

**Author's Note:**

> title from "upside down (bouncing off the ceiling)" by a*teens because i'm the worst
> 
> edit: MADDIE DID AMAZING FANART FOR THIS FIC AAAHHHHHHH PLS LOOK: https://twitter.com/drowzydruzy/status/883168490466799616

1.

“If we get caught, _you’re responsible,”_ hisses Cassander, peering down the dark alleyway for any security that might be coming their way.  Mako snorts.

“ _Relax_ , Cass!  We’re the experts here, right?”  He’s currently deep in the security system for the building they’re trying to get into, forehead screwed up in concentration as he does something probably complicated and _definitely_ illegal.

The sound of footsteps comes echoing from around the shadowy corner, and Cassander puts a hand on Mako’s shoulder.

“Hurry it up, we’ve got company.”

“I’m trying!  Just another couple seconds!”

“We don’t have a couple seconds!  Mako, we have to- _mmph!_ ”

Suddenly, Cassander is shoved up against the opposite wall with a pair of _very_ enthusiastic and _very_ forceful lips smushed against theirs.  Mako puts his hands on their biceps, holding them in place while he continues to kiss them.

Cassander hears a tired voice nearby grumble about “damn horny kids” and “not paid enough for this” before the footsteps retreat and Mako finally pulls away, grinning.  Cass splutters decidedly ungracefully, still attempting to understand what exactly just happened and trying desperately not to think about how soft Mako’s lips felt on theirs.

Cass hears the door click open.

“ _Whew,_ see!  I told you I knew what I was doing!”

Still a bit dazed, Cassander follows Mako inside.

 

2.

Cassander, drifting in and out of awareness, only gets pieces of the conversation over the excruciating pain in their abdomen and the roar of the _Kingdom Come_ ’s engines lifting off the surface off the planet.  The last thing they remember is being slammed into the wall by a Rook and falling unconscious.

“Aria, what do we _do?”_

“I don’t know!  I don’t know, Mako!”

“Should I try CPR?”

 _No, please no,_ thinks Cassander, unable to vocalize that they in no way need CPR, _especially_ because Mako definitely doesn’t know CPR for an Apostolosian respiratory system.

“I’m gonna try CPR,” Mako says from somewhere above them.  Cass wants to groan in protest but can’t get their mouth to work properly yet.

“Mako, I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

 _Listen to Aria_ , says the alert part of Cassander’s brain.  They feel hands on either side of their face and know there’s no way to avert their fate now.  Blearily, they feel Mako’s mouth descend onto theirs, blowing unpleasantly hot air directly into their mouth.

Cassander’s body chooses that moment to give them back control over their face and limbs, and they weakly push against Mako’s face with one bruised hand.

“Cass!  You’re alive!” Mako shouts, causing Cassander to wince at the noise.  They grimace in pain as Mako throws himself around Cassander’s prone body in an awkward hug.  They turn their head to look at Aria, standing a few feet away, concerned but also vaguely amused.

“Aria,” they rasp.  “I’m going to need the strongest pain meds we have.”

 

3.

The hotel receptionist looks dubiously down her nose at the two of them.  Mako grins brightly back.

“And you need this particular room… _why?_ ” she asks, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“Because, ah…”  Cassander begins, brain failing to fill in the blank with a reasonable excuse for needing the room directly next to their target that doesn’t involve telling the receptionist that they’ve been hired to rob another guest (sorry, _reclaim_ stolen property).

“Because it’s our honeymoon and that room has our favorite view in Centralia!”  Mako pipes up, grabbing hold of Cassander’s hand and smiling even brighter, if that were possible.  “Right, sugarplum?”

The receptionist pauses for a long moment, taking in Mako’s pineapple-shaped sunglasses and bright pink t-shirt underneath a combination zebra and leopard print jacket against Cassander’s nondescript navy blue Apostolosian uniform.

They can both tell that she’s not buying it for a second, so Mako yanks on Cassander’s hand and locks their lips together in a showy and, frankly, disgustingly loud kiss.  It’s wet and gross and decidedly unpleasant but something in the back of Cassander’s brain is regretful when Mako pulls away with a loud _smack!_   The receptionist is sporting a vaguely nauseated expression.

“Ah… of course, we’ll get you the room right away, Mr…”

“Taylor! Drillbot Taylor,” says Mako, handing over the credits and signing his awful fake name on the receipt, grinning brilliantly all the while.  Cassander resists the urge to groan and takes the room key when the receptionist offers it.

“You have a good night, Mr. and Mr. Taylor,” she says, immediately turning away and refusing to make any more eye contact.

“Thanks! C’mon prince charming, let’s go.”

Cass lets Mako pull them away towards the elevator bank, fingers still linked.

 

4.

They’ve all had way too much to drink.  Cassander in particular has had more than their fair share of the sweet, syrupy Kalliopian rum that Jacqui had pulled out of a secret pocket in her bags.  They’re sure that their flush is visible to everyone despite their dark skin, and their limbs aren’t responding as fast as they should be.  In short, they’re _quite_ drunk.

Luckily, so is the rest of the Chime, excluding AuDy for obvious reasons, and Orth, who is still nursing his first drink and acting as team babysitter for the night.  Cassander suddenly imagines what Orth must be like absolutely hammered and has to suppress giggles behind their hand.

In their drunken haze, someone (they suspect Aria) suggests spin the bottle with the nearly empty handle of rum.  In that haze, it seems like a great idea to say yes.  They all crowd around the bottle in the tiny common space of the ship – everyone except Orth, who quietly makes his way into the cockpit with a datapad and a muttered excuse.  Cassander’s not sure how AuDy is going to kiss anyone but resolves to cross that bridge when they get there.

Mako spins first and lands on AuDy who, true to form, seems absolutely unfazed.  Mako giggles and plants a sloppy kiss on the top of AuDy’s chassis where their head might be if they had a head.

“Strange.”  They spin the bottle and it lands on Aria, who looks at them expectantly, trying her best not to collapse into laughter.  AuDy pauses for a long moment, then says, “I do not possess the appropriate hardware.”

Suppressing giggles, Aria leans over and presses her lips to AuDy’s… shoulder? Cass isn’t sure what to call it.  She leaves a bright pink lipstick mark on the dull metal.

Aria spins and lands on Jacqui, who flushes as Aria’s eyes light up with delight.  Aria all but tackles her to the ground, lips locked and smearing messy streaks of pink and purple lipstick all over each other’s faces.  Cassander snorts at the tableau they make on the dirty ship’s floor.

“Well,” AuDy deadpans.  “That’s a bit much, isn’t it?”  Their dull voice seems to break the two out of whatever trance they’re in and they part, breathing heavily and giggling.

“Sorry,” says Jacqui, clearly not sorry at all, her hair and mouth a disheveled purple mess.  She takes hold of the bottle and spins it hard, eventually landing on Mako.  They make eye contact and collapse to the ground laughing.

“I’m too gay for this,” manages Jacqui between gasps of laughter, and Mako nods in agreement.  Eventually, they stop giggling long enough for a tiny peck on the lips, after which they collapse again.  Mako collects himself enough to spin the bottle, which lands squarely on Cassander.  They gulp down a sudden wave of nerves.

“Cass!” cries Mako brightly, plopping down right in Cassander’s lap, face close enough that Cassander can smell the rum on Mako’s breath.  They hear Aria snort behind them and Mako whirls around clumsily, face serious in the way that only the very drunk can manage.

“Hey! Don’t ruin this beautiful moment.”

And with that Mako turns back to Cassander and kisses them, hard and fast and sloppy but _good_.  One of Cassander’s hands comes up to rest on the small of Mako’s back, the other threading into his shock of bright blond hair.  Mako whines into Cassander’s mouth, holding onto their shoulders for dear life as his tongue slides slick past Cassander’s lips.

Jacqui whistles at them, and Cass is suddenly aware that at least half a minute has passed, maybe more.  They break away, breath coming short and face flushed beyond all recognition.

“I’m…”  The room is suddenly spinning and they scramble clumsily to their feet, knocking Mako off their lap in the process.  Their face is burning with what feels like the heat of a thousand suns.  Mako looks up at them with wide eyes, confused and hurt in equal measure.

“I’m going to bed.  Good night everyone.”

Cassander makes a beeline for their private quarters, trying desperately to quell the shaking of their hands.  _Stupid! Why would you let him when you…_

Sleep takes a while to find them that night.

 

5.

Cassander collapses into the chair next to Mako’s bed.  He’s finally, _finally_ stabilized after taking multiple gunshot wounds through the stomach, thanks to Cassander’s quick thinking and steady hands.

Now that Mako’s mostly in the clear, Cassander lets their fingers shake, all the nervous energy they had compartmentalized and suppressed coming to bear in full force as they replay events in their head.  _If only they could have gotten there quicker, had better supplies, been smarter about it…_

“Am I alive?”  A weak voice comes from the bed beside them and Cassander lifts their head off their hands to meet the bleary eyes of a clearly drugged-out Mako.  Their expression must be hilariously stunned because Mako gives a weak laugh followed immediately by a pained groan.

“Shit, yeah, definitely alive.”

Cassander stands, leaning over Mako to run some diagnostics on his vitals.  They put three fingers just below Mako’s jaw to check his pulse.  They certainly have the equipment to monitor heartbeat, but checking manually is a habit Cassander just can’t shake – something about feeling the life humming underneath Mako’s skin reassures them that he’s here, that he’s going to make it.

“Hey Cass,” rasps Mako.  Cassander pauses in their diagnostics, their faces inches apart.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re really pretty?  Like, _really pretty?”_

“Mako, you’re _really_ high,” Cassander says, trying not to let Mako’s comments get under their skin.  Mako makes a protesting noise, expression as serious as can be.

“No, Cass, I mean it.  I really do.  You’re pretty and smart and good at making plans and _I’m_ not good at plans even if I say I am and-”

“ _Shhh_ ,” says Cass, putting a hand on Mako’s cheek.  They can feel their own cheeks heating.  “Mako, just go back to sleep.  You’re on a lot of pain medication right now and you need-”

Suddenly, a pair of lips on theirs, feverishly warm.  It’s nothing like the last time they kissed, hard and fast and rough – it’s soft and gentle and kind of sweet.  Cassander lets their eyes fall closed, just for a moment, relishing the contact.

Mako flops back into the bed, moving even this much clearly having taken it out of him.  He’s got a small fond smile on his face, a weak shadow of his usual thousand-watt grin.  He’s back asleep within moments.

Cassander collapses back into their chair.  They’re not sure what to do, but they know that they and Mako can’t keep doing… _whatever_ this is.

They keep one eye on the blinking lights and scrolling text of the medbay’s diagnostics screen and the other eye on Mako’s face, so much calmer in sleep, brow smooth and breathing even.

 _Shit_ , thinks Cass.  _Shit, I think I love him._

6.

They’re laying side-by-side on the scorched pavement, the air around them finally settling after the explosion that marked the end of their firefight against the Automatic Corp’s hired mercenaries.  Cassander breathes heavily, the acrid smoke stinging their eyes and throat.

Mako starts laughing, a tired but elated sound that rises above the distant sound of approaching sirens.  Cassander turns to look at him, their eyes meeting through the haze.

“Well, that certainly didn’t go how I expected,” says Mako, pushing himself up to a sitting position on the concrete.  His face is streaked with ash and his hair is sticking up every which way.  “You good, Cass?”

Cassander doesn’t answer.  Instead, they fist one hand in Mako’s shirt and pull him in close, locking their lips together.  Mako makes a surprised noise then melts into the kiss, lips moving frantically against theirs, threading his fingers through Cassander’s short-cropped hair.  They hear an explosion in the distance.  They don’t stop kissing.

Finally, _finally_ , they break apart, breathing heavily.  Cassander is the first to start laughing, and once they start they can’t stop, elation and disbelief warring in their chest.  Mako laughs with them, intertwining their hands and resting his forehead on Cassander’s shoulder.

“I should have done that a long time ago,” says Cassander, wonder in their voice.  Mako snorts.

“I know! I’ve been _trying_ to get you to do that for _ages!_ ” he laughs, turning his head to press a sloppy kiss to Cassander’s jaw.  Cassander wraps their arms around Mako, chuckling softly.

They wait for the rest of the Chime to arrive, just like that.

**Author's Note:**

> LET MAKO AND CASSANDER KISS
> 
> also i couldn't resist the return of drillbot taylor bc.... come on


End file.
